Principal Investigator

The immunological status is closely associated with the prognosis of cancer patients. We investigated whether serum IL-8 reflects the tumor microenvironment and has prognostic value in 50 patients with resectable oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). We found that the relapse-free survival (RFS) was significantly longer in the Stage I/II OSCC patients with low serum IL-8 levels compared to those with high levels. The tumor expression of IL-8, the infiltration of CD163-positive cells, and of CD66b-positive cells in the tumor tissues were correlated with the serum IL-8 level, and they were associated with poor clinical outcome in all patients. These findings indicate that IL-8 may be involved in poor clinical outcomes via the generation of CD163-positive M2 macrophages and CD66b-overexpressing, arginase-producing granulocytes, and that these factors may have prognostic value as well as may be new targets for treatment in patients with resectable OSCC.